Hello Again Who: Monica and Dorian Where: Nevermore When: Afternoon
From the first sobering moments in Monica's morning she began thinking about the guy at the bookstore and how she had vowed to go back there. And she had to, especially because the full moon had gone smoothly thanks to her taking his advice. And also because he had the name and number of a contractor for a cage. Because now the truth was out and she and Hannah had to figure out a place for a cage in their already stuffed apartment. Oh, joy.
After a good, long shower, some Tylenol and food, she was ready to go. But the sunlight was still hurting her eyes quite a bit, which meant two things: sunglasses, and driving. Hey she had driven home quite intoxicated, she'd be alright hungover. Hopefully Dorian wouldn't notice, that would just give the best impression ever, wouldn't it? Maybe she would pick up some coffee before heading to the bookstore.
It wasn't that long a drive, and soon after getting a tall cup of cappuccino, Monica found herself outside Nevermore cracking her knuckles and taking a deep breath. She walked in with a bright smile and looked around, finally spotting Dorian at the center table reading. Not wanting to freak him out by suddenly appearing, she made her way slowly to the table and greeted him halfway there, "Hey Dorian." Hopefully he'd remember her. Otherwise this would just be awkward.
"Monica," Dorian said, smiling as he looked up from his book. He didn't forget a were-meerkat easily, that was certain. He'd been hoping she'd stop by again so that he could give her the name and number of the contractor for a cage--- and he'd been hoping she'd survived the last full moon without worries. For as long as she'd been hiding what she was, Dorian figured that going down to the county jail had to have been a pretty big deal. Hopefully she took his advice. "How's it going?" he asked, setting his book aside and rising from his seat. He noticed the sunglasses, though most people took a moment before removing them after stepping inside when it was sunny out.
Ah, he remembered her. Good! She held out her hand while removing her glasses with her other one. Squinting for a few moments until she grew used to the light, Monica smiled again. "I figured I should stop by and thank you. I did what you suggested and it all went fine." Then, she took a sip of her warm cappuccino and waited for Dorian to either tell her to sit down or not. She'd be fine either way.
Dorian took her hand, then stood to pull out a chair for her. He'd rather her have a seat than feel like she was hovering over him. "You're welcome," he smiled. "I'm glad it all worked out for you. I know it wasn't the best option in the world, but it seemed better than the alternatives at the last minute." That had been one of the good things about the Light of May. It provided those in need with assistance that had never existed before.
"Thanks." Sitting down, Monica sipped on her drink before setting it on the table. "Well yeah, but it worked out fine anyway. And if I hadn't walked in here desperate and confused, I wouldn't even know about it. So, again, thank you." She smiled broadly at Dorian, before looking around the store from where she was sitting. It really was a cool place. "Now, all I need is that contractor's number. And hopefully he won't pass judgment on what exactly a young adult female might need a cage for." She joked.
"Oh sure," Dorian said, standing up and heading to the counter for a brief moment. He shuffled through some papers before copying a number down for her, then returning to his seat at the table. "I'm positive he won't pass judgment, though he might have a pretty good idea what it's for. I think he's a were himself, though I wouldn't say for certain. Maybe he'll tell you," Dorian said as he handed her the slip of paper.
"Ah, really? That's cool!" She said with a smile, taking the slip of paper from Dorian, given it a one-over then stashing it in her handbag. "So, uh...I told my friends!" Not that she thought he would somehow care a lot about it, but given he was kind of responsible for her new stance on her 'condition', Monica thought she might as well tell Dorian. And thank him another ten times.
"Really?" Dorian asked, smiling as he raised his eyebrows. "That's great. How's they take it?" He was guessing from the way she said it that it wasn't absolutely horrible, which was always a plus. Having her friends know would be one of the best steps in her really dealing with what she was and learning to live with it, rather than just living in fear once a month.
Monica shrugged. "Not bad. Kept ragging on me for not telling them sooner, asked if I dressed in drag and did the hula, then started asking about grubs." She shook her head. "Anyway, I think I'll be okay. They're both tight with the elements after all; it's not that weird for them, I guess." And thank God for that. It would be just the biggest shit if they had ran the other way screaming.
"But really, the reason I'm telling you this is that I like to give credit where credit's due, and I think if it wasn't for you I still wouldn't have told them." She smiled. "So thank you, Dorian, for helping with the fear."
"If they're joking about it, then they must be okay with it," Dorian laughed. And if they were elementals, then they knew what it was like to be different. Maybe they didn't have to worry about turning into a monster once a month, but they could relate on some level, and that was what was important. "You're welcome," Dorian smiled. "I really am glad I was able to help. A month ago I'm not sure where I would've told you to go, but the Light of May has made a few things easier." Finding someone to commission a cage was far more awkward when one didn't have an easy excuse, he was sure.
She shrugged, snickering. "Yeah, they were mostly okay. Kept pushing for me to come on to you next time I saw you though, that was weird." And she had a big mouth, obviously. "But that's them, they do that." If she was more pale she'd be blushing. Monica was no longer drunk, but it seemed like her big mouth hadn't come from there. "Oh, I'm sure it has. I mean, how could I even walk into the police station and tell them what was up if you hadn't told me they were actually preparing for it? They'd arrest me as a crazy person anyway, but then seeing me like that would probably make them send me away to some lab." Monica shuddered at the thought.
"Maybe your friends were right," Dorian smiled. "Unless you find it weird." He wasn't very good at telling when a girl was flirting with him, but he was pretty sure he could tell when she'd said something like that. Then again, she'd said they wanted her to, not that she was going to, so maybe she wasn't interested. This was why he was so bad at picking up girls-- he over thought everything they said. "I'm sure that, prior to the Light of May, if you went in saying you needed to be locked up because you were going to turn into a monster, they might think you're crazy, but you'd get your wish. Luckily, that's not the way things are these days."
Well that, Monica wasn't expecting. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "I find it weird that they were so insistent, not...that...you know. Wouldn't be the weirdest thing in the world for me to want to come on to you. With or without them nagging." She sighed. That didn't go so well, did it? That's not how you do it. "I guess I just talked very highly of you, to them." Monica shrugged, looking away as she rolled her eyes. She didn't use to be so awkward about this kind of thing; but then again, the guys she usually associated with were a lot different from Dorian. Especially when it came to smarts. And now, how could she go on from what she'd said? You don't announce you're about to come on to someone. Especially not to that someone.
"Oh I'm sure I would get it. I'm not sure I'd be okay with what would happen next, though." She grinned.
Dorian laughed softly, but smiled. She was just about as bad at this as he was, which really took some work, but he found it cute. She seemed like a nice enough girl, and Dorian realized this would usually be the point in which his friends would push him to do something about it. Or ask him why he hadn't after the fact. "We should get coffee sometime," he said. "If you want to. Not just cause of your friends." Since he wasn't entirely sure she wanted to come on to him, but then coffee could just be friendly as well.
You see, she wasn't used to them having a brain. That threw her off slightly. Usually Monica's crushes were all looks and no substance, but Dorian - while not a crush, yet - wasn't like that, and apparently she lost her A-game because of it. She didn't stutter like an idiot, though, and that was a good thing. Monica smiled, and nodded. "Never because of my friends, Dorian. But yeah, I think we should, too." She looked around, still smiling. "In the meantime, I was told you'd give me a tour of this fine place next time I came in here, which is today!"
"Okay, great," Dorian grinned. That was probably the easiest time he'd ever had asking a girl out, simply because there had been no preemptive worrying about doing so. "Well, it's not a big shop, but we've got a lot of interesting stuff. On the ground floor is the main stuff for sale, mostly books, while upstairs is kind of a library. We keep the rare finds up there, books that we only have one copy of and we don't intend to sell. My mother also does private readings on the second floor, while I maintain the ground floor."
That had gone well. Monica kept smiling, happy with herself that at least he hadn't laughed in her face going 'Hahaha no.' like she had done a couple of times to a few guys. That would have been harsh. As he spoke Monica looked around, and she even looked up to the ceiling reflexively when he mentioned the rare editions upstairs. "Oooh rare editions..." It might not seem like it, but Monica actually liked to read a good book from time to time. Not that she really had that much time with school and the nights out, but she tried. Her mother and father would deck her if she turned brainless. And she might deck herself if that happened, of course. "Private readings?" At this Monica turned back to face Dorian, curiosity all over her features. "Really? What kind?"
"Yeah, generally if we find a spell book worth keeping around, it's one of only a few copies. Prior to the Light of May, there weren't many witches writing and selling their own spells," Dorian said, his eyes lifting to the rows of books that were out of reach for the normal customer. They would need a ladder to get to them and there wasn't a ladder in the store. If they needed pulling, Dorian pulled them with his TK. "Like... she's a reader," Dorian said, looking to her, wondering how she'd react to such an answer. "Tea leaves, tarot cards, palms, crystal balls. She can go into a trance and have visions, looking into the past, present, or future."
It might not seem that way for him, but for Monica that was a whole lot of information to process. She stood there staring at him with her mouth half-open and a look of shock mixed with disbelief for a minute before speaking. "Okay, like...First? I never thought that kind of thing actually, you know, worked. For real. I never thought someone could actually, seriously read stuff about the future from anywhere. Honestly I always thought it was either bullshit, or suggestion. And second, I've been thoroughly out-cooled again, so thanks for that. You don't happen to have siblings who can talk to spirits or anything, do you?" She spoke with a bright smile, and raised eyebrows. Up until today, she was very sure the whole tarot cards thing was some sort of bullshit that people thought worked and that helped in itself. And she only believed Dorian because for her own sake she was hellbent on thinking he was sane. And so was his mother.
"About half the readers out there don't know what they're doing, and another good portion are just trying to steal your money," Dorian laughed. "The ones that are for real aren't usually on tv. People tend to think they're a little weird. Also, people don't really want to know the future." That was the number one reason his mother didn't have a crazy number of repeat customers. It was a little spooky to know things before they happened, and those kind of messages never came through crystal clear. She preferred to give guidance where possible, rather than outright answers. People ended up happier, in the long run. "I have a little brother, but he doesn't talk to spirits," Dorian grinned. "Psychic stuff just seems to run in our family. It wasn't something we could really talk about before."
It figured! Monica nodded, smiling proudly at the way she wasn't exactly wrong in her assumptions. "Right..." She thought about it for a while. "I guess I'd be too curious to walk away, honestly, but that's just me." Monica still thought she mind end up regretting ever wanting to know, though, that was for sure. Especially if she came to know bad, bad things. As she imagined this her eyes grew wider. She was quick to snap out of it, though, when Dorian talked about his brother; especially because the dimples made an appearance as he grinned and she loved them dimples. "Ahh, but he's a psychic too, then! What's he got?" You couldn't blame her for being curious! Psychics, she had never known before.
"I don't make a habit of asking, though I have to admit a good part of that is because she's my mom," Dorian grinned, though bit his lip when he realized he'd given away his brother. "He's... something he's not all that comfortable with, so I'm not gonna say. I don't go around telling others what people are, otherwise I'd be out of business." People came in with questions all the time, and even when they tried to cover for it, Dorian could tell when they were asking for themselves. If it got around that he wasn't good at keeping his mouth shut, people would stop coming by the shop, and he wouldn't risk that. "Maybe you'll meet him at some point. He works here when I'm not."
She couldn't fault him there. For a second there Monica's smile dropped as she realized Dorian was uncomfortable with people knowing about his family, so she looked away and didn't insist. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say you spent your days pointing people out on the street and telling everyone in the vicinity what they are." Because the next part of what he had said hadn't sat right with her all that much. At least it was a good trait to be protective of one's family. Monica had never needed to be so, but she had no doubt she would if she needed to. Hopefully, not. "I've seen him in here, then. I just don't come in when I don't see you." She said, still looking very much away.
Her reaction was so dramatic that it threw Dorian off, not sure how he'd managed to offend her, if that was the case. Rhys didn't like people knowing what he was and Dorian shouldn't have even told Aiden. Furthermore, if she came in and she knew? Rhys would likely figure it out. It was just a bad combination. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked. Things had been going so well, at least he'd thought they had been.
When Monica looked back at Dorian she was slightly confused. "What? No!" God, had it sounded that way? She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm kind of hungover, and I guess I'm being more serious than I intended. I completely understand you not wanting to out your brother if he's not into that. It's really...I don't know, noble of you. Or something." She smiled. "I just don't want you to think I'm asking because I'm being nosy, it really wasn't my intention to dig deeper than I was supposed to." Way to screw things up, jackass. she thought to herself.
"It's okay," Dorian said with a little laugh. "He's just working through it. And to give you something to compare it to, when I was his age I broke windows every time I was angry or frustrated. Windows, glasses, anything breakable. They just shattered. So I definitely wasn't running around telling everyone it was me." He wondered if she'd get that or not. It wasn't really noble of him, so much as him being trustworthy. At least, that's how he looked at it. "I don't mind you being nosy, really. I just can't always give you the answers."
Monica made a face. It must have been hard, and she understood better than he probably thought. "Well I can relate a little; I mean, I've spent the best part of my life having to run away on certain nights of the month pretending I had sleepovers. Honestly I don't know how my parents just trusted me so much that they never suspected anything was up. I'm so sneaky it's sick." She offered him her most compassionate smile. It really had been kind of hard to have to go through adolescence and then some over her little 'problem'. And she still hadn't mustered up the guts to tell her parents. Way to be an adult. "It's okay, I understand." She said, patting Dorian lightly on the shoulder with a wink.
It was a little different, but oddly similar. Dorian expected that being bitten would be hard on anyone, but even harder on someone young, bitten prior to knowing what was out there. At least these days someone might have a clue. "So, got any questions about the stuff in the store? I'm familiar with just about everything we've got," Dorian said. He did all the purchasing and attempted to read whatever new came in. It was rare when there was something in a book that he didn't already know.
With a smile, Monica looked up at Dorian and shrugged. "How about you let me know what you think is really interesting, seeing as I have no experience with this kind of stuff? We'll go from there." And because she had no shame or that many boundaries in normal situations, Monica proceeded to wrap her arm around Dorian's elbow, ready to start walking around.